Chapter 6 — Reborn: This Hell Is Mine

Go One Step Ahead

Ý Vy understood that, in order to neutralize Tuệ Nghi's every move without revealing that she knew everything in advance, she needed a more subtle strategy than simply appearing at the right time and place. She began to take full advantage of the only advantage she had — her memory of what would happen in the next few months — to prepare in advance, instead of reacting passively.

She clearly remembers, about a month after the networking session, an important event happened in her previous life: Chung Nguyên Group's reception hall design project entered the stage of presenting the final plan to the board of directors, and Tuệ Nghi, as a representative of the media partner, was also present at that meeting to present a parallel promotion plan. In her previous life, it was at this meeting that Tuệ Nghi cleverly integrated a touching story about "a hard-working adopted sister from an orphanage who rose to become a talented design expert" into her presentation, touching the entire board of directors, and at the same time making Ý Vy the center of attention in a passive, unprepared way.

That story, although it sounded like a compliment, actually put Ý Vy in an awkward position — she was viewed as an "inspirational story" rather than a true design expert, causing some older, conservative board members to begin to doubt her true professional abilities, thinking that she was chosen because of her touching story and not because of her actual ability.

This time, Ý Vy decided not to let that situation repeat.

One week before the meeting, she proactively met privately with the partnership department of Chung Nguyên Group, asking to preview the media's presentation content, citing the need to ensure visual and message consistency between the space design and promotional communications - a completely reasonable professional request that no one could refuse.

When looking through the draft of Tuệ Nghi's presentation, Ý Vy discovered that, as expected, there was a slide section dedicated to telling the story of her "journey from orphanage to design expert", accompanied by a few old photos taken when she was a child that Ý Vy never remembered giving to Tuệ Nghi for work purposes.

She did not react harshly, nor did she request that the content be removed immediately, because doing so could make Tuệ Nghi wary, realizing that her sister was paying too close attention to what she was doing. Instead, Ý Vy gently suggested to the partner department that, in order for the presentation to the board of directors to focus maximally on professional factors and business efficiency, perhaps the personal story should be shortened, keeping only a short introductory sentence, spending most of the time on specific data and strategies.

That proposal, coming from an insider and clearly professional, was accepted by the partners without any doubt, and they directly asked Tuệ Nghi to adjust the presentation in that direction before the official meeting took place.

On the day of the meeting, when Tuệ Nghi stood up to present, the content of the touching story was only contained in a short introduction, not enough to create the same effect as in the previous life. Ý Vy, sitting on the opposite side, observed a moment of confusion cross Tuệ Nghi's face when she realized her passionate content had been cut, but she still quickly regained her professional demeanor and completed the presentation smoothly.

After the meeting, when they both left the room, Tuệ Nghi asked, her voice a bit questioning: "Do you know why the partner asked me to cut the introduction about you? I find it a bit strange, they suddenly gave their feedback right before the meeting."

"Maybe they want to focus more on business data," Ý Vy replied, her voice calm. "The board of directors pays a lot of attention to numbers these days, I've heard that too." Tuệ Nghi nodded and didn't ask any more questions, but Ý Vy noticed her sister's eyes flicking past her a little longer than usual, as if trying to find something hidden behind that simple answer.

Another situation occurred a few weeks later, when Bách Nguyên invited Ý Vy to a private dinner to further discuss the final details of the design project, before officially accepting it. In her previous life, Ý Vy clearly remembered that same evening, when she was on her way to the restaurant, Tuệ Nghi called, her voice panicked, saying that she had been in a minor car accident and needed Ý Vy to go to a nearby hospital immediately. Ý Vy then canceled her appointment with Bách Nguyên and immediately rushed to the hospital, only to discover that Tuệ Nghi only had a slight scratch on her hand, nothing serious. That evening, Bách Nguyên waited alone at the restaurant for nearly two hours before leaving, and later, when he happened to mention it again, he just smiled lightly, without blaming anything, but Ý Vy still felt guilty for a long time.

This time, when the date was approaching, Ý Vy proactively texted Tuệ Nghi two days ago, asking about her health, work, and casually saying that lately she had noticed that her sister seemed to drive alone at night, reminding her to be careful on the road. She also cleverly suggested that if Tuệ Nghi felt tired or had urgent work every night, she should call Bích Ngọc - a close friend who also knew how to drive and lives near Tuệ Nghi's house - for immediate assistance, instead of having to call Ý Vy, who was often busy with work at night.

On the appointed day, Ý Vy's phone did not receive any calls from Tuệ Nghi. That evening went smoothly, she and Bách Nguyên completed the work exchange in a more comfortable and intimate atmosphere than previous meetings, with no interruptions.

The restaurant is located on the top floor of a building overlooking the river, the city lights reflecting on the water sparkle like a strip of golden silk. Bách Nguyên ordered a bottle of red wine, poured her a small glass, then told her about his years studying abroad, about the pressure to prove himself before the skeptical eyes of older shareholders in the corporation when he first took the position of general manager at the age of twenty-seven. Ý Vy listened, occasionally contributing a few gentle questions, not to please, but because she was truly curious about the person behind the cold shell that the business world still assigned him. At the end of the meal, when he saw her off to the parking lot, he stopped for a moment before she got in the car, saying that this was a rare evening when he felt like he didn't need to take any precautions. Ý Vy smiled and said nothing, but in her heart she understood that this small peace - something that in her previous life was almost stolen by a fake call - was what was truly worth protecting.

Later, Ý Vy learned that night Tuệ Nghi actually intended to call her for some urgent reason - she happened to see a missed call canceled halfway through her call list - but for some reason, the call was not completed completely.

Ý Vy wasn't sure if it was a coincidence, or if her proactive suggestion to call Bích Ngọc had accidentally disrupted some of Tuệ Nghi's plans. But she clearly felt that every time she took a step forward and prepared a response plan based on her previous life's memories, everything went more smoothly, and the distance between her and Bách Nguyên also naturally became closer, without any harsh intervention.

That evening, when returning home, Ý Vy sat in front of her notebook and wrote a new line: "One step ahead — not to confront, but to prevent opportunities from appearing." She looked at that line for a long time, thinking to herself that perhaps this was the strategy she needed to pursue for the rest of the journey ahead — not a direct battle full of tears and accusations, but a silent game of chess, where she always kept the most advantageous position, waiting for the right moment to make the decisive move.

She closed the notebook and looked out the window at the sparkling city lights in the distance. In her previous life, she lived these days in carefree innocence, believing absolutely in sisterly love, only to have to pay a very high price. In this life, every careful step, every careful preparation, is a brick she is building for a different future, a future in which she, and not anyone else, will be the one to decide her own destiny.

She also reminded herself not to let her vigilance turn into obsession. There were nights, when she lay alone in the dark, she still wondered if she was misperceiving a few harmless details, turning them into evidence of a conspiracy that only existed in her own memories. But every time she doubts herself like that, she remembers the cold feeling of the screeching sound of car brakes on a rainy night, remembers Tuệ Nghi's empty eyes in the rearview mirror, and she knows that, even if it costs her the fatigue of always having to be on guard, she will still choose this path of sobriety, instead of going back to being a naive girl leaving her fate to blind faith.